One-sentence review: A strong start to the season earned Burris a starting position, but he lost that late in the year and struggled with consistency throughout the season.

Jordan Burris (RGJ file)

Strengths: At 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, Burris has the ideal body type for a college wing player. Heck, he has an NBA body. The senior-to-be is one of the team’s better defensive players. He’s adept at getting help-side blocks (he was eighth in the Mountain West with 25 blocks). Burris also is one of Nevada’s more aggressive offensive players and he’s excellent in transition. He doesn’t have the lightening-quick first step of teammates Deonte Burton and Marqueze Coleman, but he does a solid job of creating off the dribble thanks to his wide-shouldered frame.

Weaknesses: While Burris averaged a career-high 6.7 ppg, his offensive game hasn’t developed fast enough. He shot just 39.2 percent from the field, including 25 percent from 3-point range. His true shooting percentage of 48 percent ranked ninth out of the Wolf Pack’s 10 scholarship players in this year’s rotation. His was seventh among those 10 in offensive win shares. Simply put, Burris is a more talented offensive player than he’s shown so far. A lot of that has to do with his 3-point shooting. He’s made only 25 percent of his 3-pointers in his three-year career.

Next season: The Wolf Pack needs a big leap forward from Burris next season. It appeared he made that jump earlier this year, but things fell apart after the midway point. Burris averaged 7.8 ppg on 44.9 percent shooting in non-conference play, but just 5.6 ppg on 34 percent shooting in MWC play. With the certain loss of Malik Story and the potential loss of Deonte Burton, Burris will be counted on in a major way for scoring next season. He also must improve as a rebounder. Coach David Carter harped on his lack of depth all year. It’s up to players like Burris to provide that depth in Nevada’s second go-around in the MWC.

Burris is part of the "enigma 3" along with Panzer & Elliott - all who have been here 3 years, but none who seem to have improved much since the first day they arrived on campus! Burris, to me, looks like he plays in slow motion- doesn't he have another gear? His shooting in conf. play was horrific. Elliott also looked to be making strides in mid-season, but fell off the improvement radar as the year went on. Panzer really did little positive the entire season. These 3 really need to step it up next year for us to have a chance at making some noise.

About this blog

Longtime RGJ Media reporter Dan Hinxman is the authority on Wolf Pack athletics, bringing you the day-to-day coverage of Nevada’s sports teams. Dan has covered almost everything the Northern Nevada sports scene has to offer and will use his knowledge to bring you authoritative and engaging Wolf Pack content. Follow him on Twitter at @DanHinxmanRGJ.